List of Open University people

This is a partial list of alumni and staff of the Open University .

Alumni

The OU has over two million alumni, including:

Politicians

• Fleur Anderson, Labour MP
• Ian Byrne, Labour MP ^[1]
• Laurie Bristow, British diplomat ^[2]
• Aimee Challenor, British politician and transgender activist ^[3]
• Barbara Follett, Labour MP
• Gerald Gardiner, Baron Gardiner, former Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, completed his degree whilst serving as Chancellor of the Open University
• Bill Henderson, member of the House of Keys (Isle of Man)
• David Heyes, Labour MP
• Adam Ingram, Labour Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office
• Andrea Jenkyns, Conservative MP ^[4]
• Marat Khusnullin – Deputy Prime Minister of Russia
• Peter Law, Welsh politician and Independent Member of Parliament for Blaenau Gwent ^[5]
• John McFall, Labour MP and Senior Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords
• Wendy Morton – Conservative MP and former Chief Whip of the House of Commons
• Chris Pond, former Labour Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions
• John Reid – Former Labour Home Secretary and Minister.
• Graham Smith, CEO of Republic
• Meles Zenawi, former Prime Minister of Ethiopia ^[6]

Entertainers

• Joan Armatrading, singer/songwriter ^[7]
• Steve Backshall, naturalist and television presenter
• Connie Booth, actress ^[8]
• Katy Cavanagh, actress ^[9]
• Julie Christie, actress
• Lisa Coleman, actress and volunteer occupational therapist
• Micky Dolenz, formerly of The Monkees
• Lionel Fanthorpe, priest, entertainer, television presenter, author and lecturer ^[10]
• Romola Garai, actress ^[11]
• Hubert Gregg, radio presenter
• Jerry Hall, model/actress ^[7]
• Frank Hampson, creator of Dan Dare ^[12]
• Sheila Hancock, actress ^[8]
• Lenny Henry, entertainer ^[7]
• Nadiya Hussain, chef, author, television presenter ^[13]
• Matthew Kelly, television presenter ^[8]
• Mylene Klass, actress, singer, model, pianist and media personality ^[7]
• Clare Nasir, meteorologist and television presenter
• David Neilson, actor
• Talulah Riley, actress
• Dave Rowntree, drummer, politician, solicitor and composer ^[14]
• Julia Sawalha, actress ^[7]
• Graeme K Talboys, writer
• Susan Tully, television producer and director; former actress
• Holly Willoughby, television presenter ^[7]
• Daisy Edgar-Jones, actress ^[15]

Scientists and engineers

• Colette Henry, social scientist and Head of Department of Business Studies at Dundalk Institute of Technology
• Nigel Roberts, computer scientist
• Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England
• Robin Wilson, mathematician

Law

• Nigel Bridge, Lord Bridge of Harwich, retired Law Lord

Sport

• Craig Brown, football manager
• Ben Davies, footballer
• Helen Richardson-Walsh, hockey player
• Ran Sagiv (born 1997), Israeli Olympic triathlete
• Frank Turner, three-times Olympic gymnast

Military

• Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Burridge, Royal Air Force officer ^[16]
• Peter Cottrell, author, historian and former Royal Navy and British Army officer

Religion

• Eric Nash Devenport, Bishop of Dunwich
• Zerbanoo Gifford, author, human rights campaigner and President of World Zoroastrian Organisation

Miscellaneous

• Elizabeth Arnold, children's writer
• Nigel Benson, author and illustrator
• Bobby Cummines, charity chief executive and reformed offender. ^[17]
• J. Colin Dodds, President of Saint Mary's University (Halifax)
• Christine Grosart, cave diver and explorer
• Rose Hanbury, peeress, model and political staffer
• Jeanette Henderson, author, academic, Specialist Lay Mental health Tribunal judge, social worker, radio broadcaster
• Myra Hindley, convicted murderer and prisoner ^[18]
• Air-Vice Marshal David Anthony Hobart, Royal Air Force officer
• Gerry Hughes, sailor, first single-handed crossing of the Atlantic by a deaf person. ^[19]
• Natalya Kaspersky, co-founder and co-owner of Kaspersky Lab
• Paul Marsden, writer, businessman and former Labour/Liberal Democrat MP. ^[20]
• Ian Rankin, Scottish writer
• Ken Robinson, educationalist
• Gwyn Singleton, dyslexia educationalist ^[21]
• Mary Stuart, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lincoln ^[22]
• Peter Ventress, businessman

Honorary graduates

• Sir David Attenborough – British broadcaster and naturalist (honorary graduate)
• Tim Berners-Lee – engineer, computer scientist and inventor of the World Wide Web; recipient of OU honorary doctorate ^[23]
• Mary Beard – classicist and television presenter (honorary graduate)
• Gordon Brown – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (honorary doctorate)
• Cerrie Burnell – actress, author and former television presenter (honorary graduate)
• Sharon Corr – singer-songwriter and musician (honorary graduate)
• Brian Cox – physicist (honorary doctorate)
• Richard Dawkins – British ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author (honorary doctorate)
• Edward Heath – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975 (honorary doctorate)
• Prue Leith – restaurateur, television presenter and writer (honorary graduate)
• Judy Murray – tennis coach (honorary graduate)
• Terry Pratchett – English fantasy author
• Benjamin Zephania – poet and author (honorary graduate)

Staff

• Katharine Ellis, music historian
• John Fauvel, historian of mathematics
• Derek S. Pugh, Professor Emeritus for International Management
• Robin Wilson, mathematician

References

1. @@IanByrneMP (12 November 2019). ""One of my proudest achievements..."" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
2. "The UC Interview Series: Sir Laurie Bristow". uc.web.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
3. Aimee Challenor: Yes, I'm trans, but I'm a Green party politician and proud of it’| Alfie Packham | Society | The Guardian
4. Whale, Sebastian (29 May 2015). "Andrea Jenkyns: 'There's not much that really floors me'". totalpolitics. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
5. Peter Law: 1948-2006 | Politics | The Guardian
6. Plaut, Martin (21 August 2012). "Why the West backed Ethiopia's Meles Zenawi". BBC News. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
7. Garner, Richard (23 October 2011). "From insomniacs to iTunes: rise of the Open University". The Independent. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
8. "The Open University". The Independent. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
9. "Corrie star Katy is better by degree". The Bolton News. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
10. Fanthorpe on The Writers of Wales Database Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
11. "Passed/Failed: An education in the life of the actor Romola Garai". 25 March 2010.
12. "Frank Hampson 1918 – 1985". Tameside Tourist Information Office. Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council . Retrieved 30 April 2020.
13. "About me · Nadiya Hussain". Nadiya Hussain. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
14. Rogers, Jude (15 January 2023). "Blur's Dave Rowntree: 'I still wake at 3am thinking I've frittered my life away'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 21 August 2023.
15. Little, Harriet Fitch (16 March 2020). "Meet the Charismatic Stars of the Highly-Anticipated Normal People Adaptation". Vogue. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
16. News | The Open University Business School
17. "Youngest armed robber: 'University changed my life'". BBC News. 10 January 2017.
18. "Obituary: Myra Hindley". BBC News . 15 November 2002. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
19. "Gerry Hughes". University of Glasgow . Retrieved 30 April 2020.
20. "Paul Marsden". BBC News. 16 October 2002.
21. Singleton, Clare (31 October 2021). "Gwyn Singleton obituary". the Guardian. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
22. Professor Mary Stuart, Vice-Chancellor University of Lincoln Archived 29 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
23. "BBC News | EDUCATION | Open University's online graduation". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 8 December 2020.